Who Was John Wayne Gacy Married To? True Story Of 'Devil In Disguise's' 2 Wives And 2 Children

OTT is back with another notorious killer following the disturbing accounts of Ed Gein and 'BTK Killer', Dennis Rader. This time it's John Wayne Gacy, the subject of the Peacock's limited series, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy. John Wayne Gacy was an infamous American serial killer who murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men in the 1970s. He became known as the 'Killer Clown' because he frequently performed at children's parties and community events as 'Pogo the Clown,' which masked his horrific double life. Considering his criminal record, could someone live a spousal life with him? Surprisingly, two women did tie the knot with him and lived as his wives for a few years.

John Wayne Gacy and his first wife, Marlynn Myers, had a whirlwind romance and were parents to two kids

John Wayne Gacy met his first wife, Marlynn Myers, while working at the Nunn-Bus Shoe Company in Springfield, Illinois. They dated for several months before marrying in September 1964. Then the couple moved to Waterloo, Iowa, so that John could manage several Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises owned by Marlynn's father. He became a respected member of the community, and in February 1966, his happiness doubled as he became a father for the first time. John and Marlynn welcomed their first child, a son and a year later, their daughter was born.

Marlynn Myers divorced John Wayne Gacy after he was convicted of sodomy

Just a year after the birth of his second child, John Wayne Gacy's crimes started to come to light. In May 1968, he was accused of sexually assaulting two teenage boys. According to a later account, one of the assaults occurred while Marlynn Myers was in the hospital giving birth to their daughter. Everyone, including his family, learned about his double life as both a normal family man and a twisted criminal during that time. After months of investigation, in Movement 1968, John pleaded guilty to sodomising one of the 15-year-old boys and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iowa.

On the same day, Marlynn filed for divorce and was granted sole custody of their children. In September 1969, John and Marlynn's divorce was finalised. He was paroled in 1970 after serving only 18 months of his sentence and had no further contact with his first wife or their children. A New York Times article quotes Myers, nine years after her divorce, saying she was shocked by John's serial killer conviction. However, she also stated that she was never afraid of him as he had never been violent with her.

John Wayne Gacy got married for the second time after being paroled

After being paroled from his first prison sentence, John got engaged to Carole Hoff, a former high-school classmate, in 1971. In July of that year, the couple tied the knot. Notably, just six months earlier, he had committed his first known murder. During the marriage, Carole became suspicious of John's frequent, late-night garage visits. She also noticed a persistent, foul odour in the house, which John dismissed as a plumbing issue. Unbeknownst to her, he was murdering victims and burying them in the home's crawl space.

John Wayne Gacy's second marriage to Carole Hoff lasted for five years and ended because of his crimes

In the fourth year of their marriage, Carole found gay pornography and wallets belonging to teenage boys in the house and confronted John. He angrily denied her accusations. In October 1975, Carole requested a divorce, and it was finalised a year later. It freed John to escalate his murder spree. He killed at least 30 more young men and boys over the next three years. Like John Wayne Gacy's first wife, Carole was also unaware of the extent of his crimes during their marriage. During John's 1980 trial, she described him as a 'warm and gentle' lover.

What are your thoughts on John Wayne Gacy's two-time marriages ending in divorces due to his crimes? Let us know.

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